Boys' name · peaked in 1934
Sheldon name popularity since 1925
34,722 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Sheldon (1.4% girls, 98.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1967 or earlier, so the typical Sheldon is about 59 years old in 2026. Sheldon peaked in 1934 as the #250 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 34,722
- Named Sheldon, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1934
- #250 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,788 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 98.6% boys
- 496 girls · 34,226 boys
- Most popular in
- Hawaii
- 5.72× its national share
Peak year is the year Sheldon made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Sheldon births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1992. Measured as a share of all babies, Sheldon peaked in 1934.
- Fastest rise: Between 1987 and 1992, Sheldon became 1.5× more common, from 1 in 5,090 baby boys to 1 in 3,290.
- Steepest fall: Between 1998 and 2003, its share of baby boys fell by 45%, from 1 in 4,770 to 1 in 8,590.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Sheldon's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Sheldon.
Decade by decade
Babies named Sheldon in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 1,868 | – |
| 1930s | 13 | 4,296 | #249 |
| 1940s | 19 | 4,038 | #309 |
| 1950s | 41 | 3,804 | #384 |
| 1960s | 77 | 4,032 | #393 |
| 1970s | 76 | 3,557 | #399 |
| 1980s | 86 | 3,340 | #481 |
| 1990s | 158 | 4,837 | #459 |
| 2000s | 26 | 2,469 | #773 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,579 | #1,281 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 406 | #2,788 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
21.8% of babies named Sheldon from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Sheldon is most popular
The index compares Sheldon's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Sheldon.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 5.72× | 528 |
| New York | 2.56× | 5,740 |
| Utah | 2.33× | 587 |
| Minnesota | 1.82× | 981 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.42× | 2,137 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Sheldon's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Sheldon.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Sheldon (1934).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data